Extendible footrest for easy chairs



EXTENDABLE FOO'IRESTFOR EASY CHAIRS Filed Oct. 31, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l {0A5 22 7 20 z m 1.3 5

Fig.7.

INVENTORY lfiws Jokrzson.

T1 5. 7 ATTORNEY Jan. 2, 1940. L. JOHNSON EXTENDABLE FOO'I'REST FOR EASY CHAIRS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 51. 1938 INVENTOR Zfizus Johnson.

ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 2, 1940 UNlTED srArEs.

] ,issn

EXTENDEBLE FOOTREST FOR EASY CHAKRS Linus Johnson, New York, N. Y.

Application October 31, 1938, Serial No. 237,946

6 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in an extendible footrest for easy chairs.

. The invention has for an object the construcli 'tion of a footrest which is characterized by a footrest board supported in a particular manner so as to normally be disposed beneath the seat of the easy chair and to be extendible to a raised position to the front of the chair.

10 More specifically, the invention proposes a novel construction for supporting the footrest in its retracted, and in its extended position.

.For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, ref- 16 erence will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features-of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming'a ma- 20 terial part of this disclosure:

Fig. l is a perspective view-of an easy chair constructed according to this invention and shown with the footrest in its retracted position.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the easy chair 25 showing the footrest partially extended.

Fig. 3 isa perspective view of the chair showing the footrest fully extended.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the extendible footrest per se illustrated in the fully retracted position.

30 Fig. 5 .is an elevational viewlooking in the direction ofthe line 55 of Fig. 4 but illustrating the footrest attached to the back portion of the easy chair.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional View taken on 35 the line E6 of Fig. l but illustrating the footrest attached to the bottom of the easy chair.

Fig. is a transverse sectional View taken on the line 'l-'l of'Fig. 4 but illustrating the footrest attached to the bottom of the chair.

40 Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the lower right hand corner of Fig. 4.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to the View shown in Fig. 8 but illustrating the footrest in a partially extended position.

45 Fig. 10 is a View similar to Fig; 6 but illustrating the footrest in its fully extended position.

Fig. 11 is an elevational view looking in the direction of the line ll-ll of Fig. 10.

50 Fig. 12 is a fragmentary enlarged detailed view of a portion of Fig. 3.

Fig. 13 is a plan view of a modified form of the invention. 1 v

Fig. 14 is a vertical sectional'view taken. on

55, :the line i l- M of Fig. 13.

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line 15-45 of Fig. 14.

Fig. l6is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line IE.-l6 of Fig. 15.

Fig. 17 is a view taken'on the line l'l-l1 of 5 Fig. 16.

The extendible footrest for easy chairs, according to this invention, includes a pairof spaced parallel tracks ill suspended at their ends to' the underside of an easy chair. l l. At the rear ends 1 of the tracks H] are formed with upwardly bent portions Ill which are secured by fastening elements i2 to a portion of the easy chair ll located beneath the seat of the easy chair and above the legs thereof. At the frontends lll the tracks 15 Ill are supported by hangers l3. Each hanger has top .portions H3 and I3 by which it is attached to the underside of the chair ll. There is 21. depending portion l3 on each of the hangers which supports-the front end of the track to. 20

A U-shaped member i5 is provided for each of the tracks ill and has its arms I5 and i5, 'respectively, extended along the sides or and parallel to the tracks ill. These members l5 have their centers I5 slidably supported on the tracks ill. The U-shaped members are each formed from two strips of material forming the .side arms thereof and these strips have their inner ends bent towards each other, and overlapping and welded or in any other manner secured to-. gether to form the centers 15. Each of the centers w is formed'with an opening through which the track it passes. The hangers 13 are also formed with downward extending U-shaped portions Hi which serve to slidably support one of the arms of the U-shaped members. Particularly, it is the outer arms 15 which are supported by the hangers IS. The arrangement is such that the U-shaped members may be moved from their inward position, illustrated in Figs. 40 l, 4, 5 and 6, to extended positions illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10.

A rod i1 is mounted between the front ends of the arms of the U-shaped members I5. Spacer elements it are mounted upon the rod ll between the ends of' the arms of each pair of members 15 to assist in rigidly holding the arms in parallel relationship with each other." Other tubular spacer members It are also mounted on the rod l'l inside of the arms th of the U-shaped members and assist in properly holding-a pair of legs 20 as hereinafter more fully explained.

The legs it are pivotally mounted at their upl per ends on the rod ii at positions immediately toone side of the bushings it. These legs 20 are i move the lever.

adapted to extend vertically downwards to rest on the ground, or floor, as illustrated in Figs. 3, 9, 10 and 11. Or these legs may be pivoted to horizontal positions to extend within the plane of the members 55 as illustrated in Figs. 2, 5, 6, 7 and 9. v

A footrest board 2| is of a width so as to extend across the inner arms I5 of the members 5. Bars 22 are pivotally connected with the footrest 2| and with the inner arms l5 of the U-shaped members for supporting the footrest in its raised position. More specifically, there are four of these bars 22. They are arranged at the four corners of the footrest. Each of these bars is pivotally connected by pintles 23 with brackets 23 attached upon the bottom face of the footrest. At their lower ends the bars 22 are pivotally mounted by pintles 25 on the side arms l5 The bars 22 are of identical length and they are arranged parallel to each other so as to produce a parallelogram in conjunction with the footrest 2i and the side arms Hi. Therefore the footrest 2i may move from the full line position shown in Fig. 9, for example, to the dot and dash line position shown in this figure.

Links 23 are connected between the legs 23 and the footrest 2| for raising the footrest when the legs are moved to their vertical positions. More particularly, the links 2? are supported at their lower ends by pintles 28 mounted upon the legs 23. At their upper ends the links 21 are pivotally supported by certain of the pintles 23 and certain of the brackets 24. There is a particular relationship between the links 2'! and the bars This relationship is such that when the legs 26 are in their vertical positions, as shown in Fig. 19, the footrest will be in a raised position.

When the legs 20 are pivoted to the horizontal positions the pins 28 will move along the arcuate line A in Fig. 10, and simultaneously the pins 23 at the upper ends of the links 21 will move along the arcuate line B. The parts are so proportioned that when the legs 29 are disposed in the same plane as the U-shaped members 5, the bars 22 P will also be disposed within this plane and the foot rest 2| will be rested across the arms I5 of the U-shaped members.

A means is also provided for extending and retracting the members l5. This means includes a lever 3|] which is pivotally mounted intermediate of its ends by a pintle 3| mounted upon the bottom portion of the easy chair One end 3|) of the lever 36 projects and is bent upwards to form a handle which may be manually gripped to The inner end of the lever 30 is pivotally connected with a bushing 32 which is slidably supported on a rod 33 mounted between the inner ends of the U-shaped members.

A bar 23 is rigidly connected between the legs 23 and holds the legs together as a unit.

The operation of the device is as follows:

A person may sit in the easy chair while it is in the condition illustrated in Fig. l. The footrest may be extended by first gripping the end 36 of the lever 33 and moving this end rearwards. As the end of the lever is moved rearwards its inner end will move forwards (see Fig. 4), and the bushing 32 will be correspondingly moved and slide along the rod 33 and correspondingly move the rod 33. This will cause the U- shaped members IE to be moved to extended positions as illustrated in Fig. 2. Then the foot rest board 2| may be manually gripped and pulled upwards to the position illustrated in Fig. 3 and this automatically pivots the legs 2|] downwards to their vertical positions as shown in Figs. 3 and 10. The footrest 2| is now fully opened and ready for use.

The footrest board 2| illustrated in Figs. 13 and 14, is provided with a folded flap 2| hinged at 2| A projecting loop 35 is mounted on the bottom face of the flap 2|. A latch arm 31 has a hook 36 formed on its free extremity and in the open position of the flap 2| the hook 36 is adapted to be engaged upon the loop 35 for rigid- 1y supporting the flap. The other .end of this arm is slidably connected in channel 38 secured to one of the legs 20. The latch arm 31 may be raised or lowered and held in each position by a suitable wing nut 39 which engages a threaded portion 40 projecting from slide block 4| which is hinged to the lower extremity of the latch arm 31, at 42. This arrangement permits the flap to be extended and held firmly in position so that books, or other objects may be placed thereon.

In place of the above sliding arm arrangement, the hinged latch arm 3'! may be foldingly arranged to hold the flap 2| in open position, and when the hinged flap 2| is not used, the folding latch arm may be closed.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that. I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as de fined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. An extendible footrest for easy chairs, comprising a pair of spaced parallel tracks suspended at their ends beneath the seat of an easy chair, a U-shaped member for each of said tracks having its arms extended along the sides of and parallel to said track and having its center slidably supported on the track, hangers suspended beneath the seat of said chair and slidably supporting one of the arms of each of said members,

a rod between the front ends of said arms, a pair of legs pivotally mounted on said rod and adapted to extend vertically downwards to rest on the floor or horizontally within the plane 'of said members, a footrest board rested across the inner arms of said members, bars pivotally connected with said footrest and said inner arms for supporting the footrest in its raised position, links between said legs and footrest for raising the footrest when the legs are moved to their vertical position and means for extending and retracting said members.

2. An extendible footrest for easy chairs, comprising a pair of spaced parallel tracks suspended at their ends beneath the seat of an easy chair, a U-shaped member for each of said tracks having its arms extended along the sides of and parallel to said track and having its center slidably supported on the track, hangers suspended beneath the seat of said chair and slidably supporting one of the arms of each of said members, a rod between the front ends of said arms, a pair of legs pivotally mounted on said rod and adapted to extend vertically downwards to rest on the floor or horizontally within the plane of said members, a foot-rest board rested across the inner arms of said members, bars pivotally connected wtih said footrest and said inner arms for supporting the footrest in its raised position, links between said legs and footrest for raising the footrest when the legs are moved to their vertical position, and means for extending and retracting said members, each of said U-shaped members comprising a pair of strips forming the arms thereof and having their rear ends bent towards each other and overlapping and forming the centers thereof.

3. An extendible footrest for easy chairs, coma prising a pair of spaced parallel tracks suspended at their ends beneath the seat of an easy chair, a Ushaped memberfor each'of said tracks hav ing its arms extended along the sides of and parallel to said track and having its center slidably supported on the track, hangers suspended beneath the seat of said chair and slidably supporting one of the arms of each of said members, a rod betweenthe front ends of said arms, a pair of legs pivotallymounte'd on said rod and adapted to extend vertically downwards to rest on the floor or horizontally within the plane of. said members, a footrest board rested across the inner arms of said members, bars pivotally connected with said footrest and said inner arms for supporting the footrest in its raised position, links between said legs and footrest forraising the footrest when the legs are moved to their vertical position, and means for extending and retracting said members, said hangers being provided with downwardly projectingportions supporting the front ends of said tracks.

4. An extendible footrest for easy chairs, comprising a pair of spaced parallel tracks suspended at their ends beneath the seat of an easy chair, a U-shaped member for each of said tracks having its arms extended along the sides of and parallel to said track and having its center slidably supported on the track, hangers suspended beneath the seat of said chair and slidably supporting one of the arms of each of said members, a rod between the front ends of said arms, a pair of legs pivotally mounted on said rod and adapted to extend vertically downwards to rest on the floor or horizontally within the plane of said members, a footrest board rested across the inner arms of said members, bars pivotally connected with said footrest and saidinner arms for supporting the footrest in its raised position, links between saidlegs and footrest for raising the footrest when the legs are moved to their vertical position, means for extending and retracting said members, said bars being arranged parallel to each other and forming a parallelo-- gram'in conjunction with said .footrest and the associated arm portion of the U-shaped member.

5. An extendible footrest for easy chairs, comprising a pair of spaced parallel tracks suspended tracting said members, comprising a lever pivat their ends beneath the seat of an easy chair, a

U-shaped member for each of said tracks and having its arms extended along the sides of and parallel'to said track and having its center slidably supported on the track, hangers suspended beneath the seat of said, chair and slidably supporting one of the arms of each of said members, a rodbetween the front ends ,of said arms, a pair of legs pivotally mounted on said rod and adapted to extendvertically downwards to rest on the floor or horizontally within. the" plane of said members, a footrest board rested'across the inner ,arms of said members, bars pivotally connected with said footrest and said, inner arms for supporting the footrest in its raised position, links between said legs and footrest for raising the footrest when the legs are moved to their vertical position, and means for extending and re- .otally mounted beneath the seatof said easy chair and having an extended end which may be moved, a bar between saidU-shaped mem-' bers, a bushing slidably mounted on said bar, and the inner end of said lever being pivotally 'connected with said bushing.

6. An extendible footrest for easy chairs, comprising a pair of spaced parallel tracks suspended at their ends beneath theseat of an easy chair,

- a U-shaped member for each of said tracks hav ing its arms extended along the sides of and parallel to said track and having its center slidably supportedon the track, hangers suspended beneath the seat of said chair and slidably supporting one of the arms of each of said members,

a rod between the front ends of said arms, a

pair of legs pivotally mounted on said rod and adapted to extend vertically downwardsto rest 'on the floor or horizontally within the plane of said members, a footrest boardrested across the inner arms of said members, bars pivotally connected with said footrest and said inner arms -for supporting the footrest in its raised position,

links between said legs and footrest for raising the footrest when the legs are moved to their vertical position, means for extending and ref tracting said memberscOmprising a leverpivotally mounted'beneath the seat of said easy chair and having an extended end which may be moved, a bar between said U-shaped members, a bushing slidably mounted on said bar, and'the inner end of said lever being pivotally connected withsaid bushing the outer end of said lever having a bent up portion forming a handle.

- LINUS JOHNSON. 

